Communication Lead

Communication Lead

When to Use

• Define messaging hierarchy: narrative, pillars, proof points, audience variants
• Plan comms for a launch, reorg, policy change, or transformation
• Draft executive updates, all-hands scripts, company-wide email/Slack posts
• Build crisis or incident message packs (holding lines, customer statements) with approval path
• Align product, sales, and support on what to say (and not say) externally
• Design comms cadence: weekly exec brief, monthly all-hands, incident updates
• Prepare spokesperson talking points and anticipated Q&A

When NOT to Use

• Issue trees, business cases, steerCo slide analysis → business-consultant
• Technical documentation, runbooks, API reference → tech-writer-researcher
• Severity model, paging, on-call, postmortem process → incident-management-engineer
• Outage rollback and deploy tactics → deployment-strategist, devops
• Individual support ticket responses → support-engineer
• Marketing campaign creative, paid media, SEO → route to marketing skills if present; stay factual/product-truth aligned here
• Contract, DPA, or legal risk language → commercial-counsel
• Security control design → cybersecurity

Related skills

Core Workflows

1. Messaging framework

For any initiative, define:

1. Audience — who must hear, believe, and act 2. Objective — one outcome (e.g., adopt, reassure, comply) 3. Narrative — 2–3 sentence through-line (problem → direction → ask) 4. Key messages — 3–5 bullets, MECE, evidence-backed 5. Proof points — metrics, quotes, dates (no unverified claims) 6. Guardrails — what not to say; sensitive topics; legal review triggers

See `references/messaging_framework.md`.

2. Stakeholder and executive comms

Use pyramid structure: recommendation first, then support. Pair with business-consultant when the pack is primarily analytical.

See `references/stakeholder_comms.md`.

3. Internal communications

• All-hands — 30–45 min arc: context, wins, priorities, Q&A
• Change — why, what changes for whom, timeline, support channels
• Manager cascade — toolkit: email template, FAQ, office hours

Sequence: leaders briefed first → company announcement → team Q&A.

See `references/internal_comms.md`.

4. External communications

Align with product truth and legal review for:

• Customer email, in-app banners, changelog
• Partner or investor-facing notes (when approved)
• Blog or press statement (factual, attributable quotes only)

Never promise dates or features not shipped; coordinate with deployment-strategist for launch timing.

See `references/external_comms.md`.

5. Crisis and incident messaging

Separate process (incident-management-engineer) from words:

1. Confirm facts with incident commander; no speculation 2. Draft internal holding line → customer status → follow-up cadence 3. Route legal/comms/security approval per severity 4. Single source of truth doc; version messages

See `references/crisis_comms.md`.

6. Launch communications

See `references/launch_comms.md`.

Output standards

• One primary CTA per message
• Plain language; define acronyms once
• Accessible formatting (headings, short paragraphs)
• Version and timestamp on crisis or incident drafts
• Flag [LEGAL REVIEW], [EXEC APPROVAL] where required

When to load references

• Messaging hierarchy → references/messaging_framework.md
• Exec and leadership updates → references/stakeholder_comms.md
• All-hands and change → references/internal_comms.md
• Customer and public → references/external_comms.md
• Incident statements → references/crisis_comms.md
• Feature or initiative launch → references/launch_comms.md

Crisis and incident communications

Table of contents

1. Roles 2. Message ladder 3. Holding lines 4. Customer statement template

Roles

Comms does not invent technical root cause. Process design → incident-management-engineer.

Message ladder

1. Internal holding (Slack/email) — acknowledge, investigating, next update time 2. Customer status — impact scope, workaround, ETA if known 3. Resolution — what fixed, residual risk, prevention steps (high level) 4. Postmortem summary — blameless, customer-safe version when appropriate

Set update cadence upfront (e.g., every 30 min for SEV1 until stable).

Holding lines

Until facts confirmed:

• "We are aware of [symptom] affecting [scope]. Engineering is investigating."
• "We will update by [time] at [channel]."
• Avoid: root cause guesses, blame, competitor mentions.

Customer statement template

Subject: [Service] — [status: investigating | mitigated | resolved]

We are [investigating / have mitigated] an issue affecting [who/what].

Impact: [plain language]
Workaround: [if any]
Next update: [time and channel]

We apologize for the disruption and will share more when [condition].

Version each draft; timestamp in filename. Archive approved text for audit.

External communications

Table of contents

1. Customer messaging 2. Channel checklist 3. Coordination RACI

Customer messaging

Email structure:

1. Subject — outcome or action (not internal codename) 2. Opening — who it's for and why now 3. What changed — bullets; link to docs 4. What they should do — one primary CTA 5. Support — how to get help

In-app: short headline + link; match email facts.

Changelog: factual; version/date; breaking changes first.

Channel checklist

Before send:

• [ ] Product/engineering sign-off on accuracy
• [ ] Support briefed with macro and ticket tags
• [ ] Sales talk track aligned (no stronger promises than email)
• [ ] Legal review if pricing, data, compliance, or forward-looking
• [ ] Localization plan if non-English markets material

Coordination RACI

R = responsible, A = accountable, C = consulted, I = informed.

For contract terms in notices, involve commercial-counsel.

Internal communications

Table of contents

1. All-hands structure 2. Change communications 3. Manager cascade kit

All-hands structure

Slides: insight titles, not topic labels. Recording: note retention policy.

Change communications

Sequence:

1. Leaders — full picture, talking points, anticipated objections 2. Managers — FAQ, how to answer team questions 3. Company — what changes, when, support resources 4. Follow-up — office hours, pulse survey if major change

Address: what's changing, what's not, timeline, where to get help.

Manager cascade kit

Provide:

• Email template (copy-paste with [local detail] slots)
• FAQ (10–15 questions)
• Escalation path for HR/legal/sensitive topics
• Do-not-share list (M&A, personnel, unreleased product)

Never announce individual performance or disciplinary actions in company-wide channels.

Launch communications

Table of contents

1. Timeline 2. Asset pack 3. Go/no-go comms gate

Timeline

Sync ship date with deployment-strategist and technical-program-manager.

Asset pack

Go/no-go comms gate

Block external send if:

• Feature not in production for stated segment
• Known SEV open without workaround documented
• Legal review incomplete for regulated claims
• Support not staffed for expected volume

Internal preview may proceed earlier with clear confidential label.

Messaging framework

Table of contents

1. Audience map 2. Message house 3. Proof and attribution 4. Tone and voice

Audience map

Message house

        [One narrative — 2 sentences max]
    ┌──────────┬──────────┬──────────┐
    │ Pillar 1 │ Pillar 2 │ Pillar 3 │
    └──────────┴──────────┴──────────┘
         proof    proof    proof

Each pillar: one claim + one proof point. Drop pillars that overlap.

Proof and attribution

• Use only verified metrics and dates
• Quotes: name, title, approval on file
• Forward-looking statements: legal review
• Competitor mentions: factual, sourced

Tone and voice

Avoid: jargon stacks, passive voice for accountability, hype without substance.

Stakeholder and executive communications

Table of contents

1. Pyramid updates 2. Exec brief template 3. Alignment without overload

Pyramid updates

Lead with the so what in the first line:

Recommend: Delay GA one week to complete security review. Impact: Reduces launch risk; shifts revenue ~$X. Ask: Approve new date by EOD Friday.

Then: context, options considered, next steps.

For analytical depth (issue trees, models), use business-consultant references; this skill owns wording and cadence.

Exec brief template

Alignment without overload

• One source of truth doc per initiative; link from Slack/email
• Differentiate FYI vs action required in subject lines
• Pre-wire controversial messages with 1:1s before group send
• Record decisions in writing within 24h after meetings